The Interpol had issued a Red Corner Notice against businessman Mehul Choksi based on the Central Bureau of Investigation’s request, PTI reported on Thursday.
After a Red Corner Notice is issued against a person, they can be arrested or detained if found in any one of the 192 member countries. The person can then be extradited or deported.
CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal confirmed it to the news agency. “The Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice against Mehul Choksi on the request of the CBI,” he said.
Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank of over Rs 13,000 crore and are being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate. Choksi was granted citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda in November 2017, and is believed to have been residing there since.
The international investigating agency had issued a notice against Modi and his sister, Purvi Modi, in July and September this year. A similar notice was issued against Mihir R Bhansali, a senior executive at the US branch of Modi’s business, on charges of money laundering.
A Central Bureau of Investigation court had issued non-bailable warrants against Choksi and Modi in March. Choksi fled India in January, a few weeks before the Rs 13,600-crore scam at Punjab National Bank came to light. In August, he said he had “lawfully applied” to become a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda to expand his business interests in the Caribbean.
In November, Choksi’s lawyer told a Mumbai court that he was “medically unfit” to travel to India while responding to the Enforcement Directorate’s plea to declare Choksi a fugitive economic offender.
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